Pages

Friday, January 25, 2013

Averlorn Campaign - A Murder Most Foul and an Evil Tome bound in human flesh...

Recap from 1/20/2013 Averlorn Online Session using Map Tools

I don't usually blog recaps about our online game using MapTools, but I took a lot of notes during the 1/23/2013 session which was mostly a story
based adventure within the City of Caursetti
in the Archipelago. I thought it would be worthwhile endeavor to
post a recap here since it has all of the elements of a good murder mystery.
The background was that as our campaign started, we were hired to escort
one Gundar Thoricson, a Wealthy Thugee merchant, on a ship bound for Caursetti. The ship hit rough waters and possibly shoals, and sank off of the Devil's
Cape, also know as point Chuddoc on the southern tip of the IslandofRhaghaera.
The cape was known to be prowled by Sahugin (Sea Devils) and sure enough,
we were attacked by them while floundering in the water and trying to swim for
the shore. During the fight, our benefactor Gundar was slain and the Sea
Devils tried to make off with his possessions, including a curious puzzle box
which we found out later contained some kind of Arcane Tome, not unlike
the Necronomicon, which just so happened to be bound in human skin.
Amazingly, the group of 1st level characters managed to fend off two
Sahugin while in the water who were slain during the fight, and we later dove
into the shallows to retrieve both the puzzle box and his enchanted short
sword.

What follows is a recap of the session in Caursetti where
we were trying to extricate ourselves from a tricky legal and political
situation within the Gleaming City of Arches. We had employed an Elven
Sage by the name of Lady Erslantz, a Sea Elf wizard, to identify the foul tome
bound in human skin for us. The next day when no one answered the
door, our wizard cast Reduce on the door to gain entry suspecting foul play.
Sure enough, they found the body of Lady Erslantz and her handmaiden and
a strange substance on both the blade and the floor. It appeared that the
lady had been strangled in her sleep and that her handmaiden
and servant had first been hit by some sort of magical attack (like
magic missile) and then gored by some fell creature, where-after she
bled out and died. The group left the premises and the door returned to
normal size, and they notified the city watch that they were supposed to meet
them at a certain time, and when they didn't answer that they went straight to
the watch to ask them to investigate since they suspected foul play. Of
course, the city guard immediately assumed they were guilty of the crime and
what follows is the narrative that occurred afterwards when we tried to extricate ourselves
from a legal and potentially political situation within a country with strict
laws, that just so happened to be at war with their enemy in Mallithorn which
is led by Ravishar the Undying:

Sorrin, our Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist met with Frunsharn the learned, the gnome illusionist
in order to discuss the enchantment on the door to one of the hideouts of Arham
of the Cult of the Red Snake that we found in the Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom (Arham
was apparently Grakhirt’s former master). He said that the magic on the
door was likely triggered by touching it and that if you could avoid touching
it while trying to open it somehow, that you might avoid the
enchantments. He also said that the knock or dispel illusion could work
to defeat the illusionary defenses along with a few other enchantments. One of our companions was laid low by a powerful illusion spell in a previous session that had been placed on the door and was in a comatose like state. Frunshar's efforts to revive the unwitting halfling met with failure and he remained in a deep magical slumber.

There are two armed camps in the Falconbridge neighborhood
of Caursetti. One of these is the Iron Keep which is a huge fortress
where the Brotherhood of the Black Crowes are stationed and quartered.
The Crowes are an order of fanatical warrior monks in the service of the God
King. It is almost a city unto itself and occupies an area almost equal
in size to a borough of the city. The other one is the Embassy of the Sea
Elves in Caursetti. The Sea elfkingdomofAlatheon, which
lies is to the Northwest of the island, has a smaller fortress and embassy
located in Falconbridge to represent its interests in the kingdom. It
contains a small Elven contingent, and when within the embassy compound, one is
considered to be upon Elven ground and subject to Elven laws.

Beyond the entrance to the Elven Embassy we were greeted by
one Finoleth Oldemain – a star elf who told the group that he would talk to
them about our problem. During this time the characters there noticed a
strange occurrence and commotion outside – a flight of Sea Elf dragons were
approaching the city in a long slow formation in order to indicate that they
held no hostile intent towards the city. He went on to say that he spoke
with his dead cousin the Elven sage a few hours ago (presumably using the Speak
with Dead Spell) and that she was confused about what transpired the night that
she died (she was murdered by some fell creature shortly after starting the
task of investigating the Evil book’s magical properties). She told the
ambassador that she was tasked to identify an item, but that she died violently
under uncertain conditions shortly after beginning the process of
identification.

After he looked at the sword of the servant that we
produced, and the oily substance on it, he indicated that it was a foe from
Malithorn that attacked and had slain his cousins. He said the sword
belonged to the Sage’s handmaiden Kaselris and that the family of the slain
handmaiden would want it back so the characters gave it to him.

They also told him about the book that the group had
obtained from Gundar Thoricson that had presumably caused the
enchantment. They produced it from the puzzle box for him to see and he
said that he believed that a considerable enchantment was on it to protect it
from prying eyes. He also said that Sea Elf Nobles and sages were often
able to provide identification of such arcane items as this. When the
group told him that we were attacked by the Sahugin off of the Devil’s cape
when Gundar Thoricson was killed (he was carrying the book at the time), he
explained that the Sahugin can sense magic. When our ship went down off
of the Devil’s cape, the book was what likely drew them to us, for the book
clearly has powerful magical properties. He indicated that we might want
to rid ourselves of such a foul and evil thing (it is bound in human skin after
all), and if we were to toss it into the sea in the area around Caursetti or
the Elven holdings, that it was unlikely to be found by the Sahugin or others
at the bottom of the ocean. The Sahugin in the area mostly live in the
seas around Devils point (point Chuddoc) but are not known to prowl in the
areas around Caursetti or where the Sea Elves reside.

He also told the group that Rallemon of Ilimus is a potent
wizard and Archmage who is well connected within the city ofCarusetti.
He said it was wise to deal with him cautiously with regard to such powerful
and evil magical artifacts. He went on to say that he is known to
interact with the enemy (Ravishar’s minions) and that he frequently travelled
freely amongst them. He also said that he has powerful allies amongst the
wizards in iron keep, Home of the Brotherhood of the Black Crowes who are the
faithful servants of the God King. He went on to explain that it was
quite likely that the enemy would get the book if we sold it to Rallemon
according to the ambassador.

Afterwards, he said that the group is currently in a
compromised situation with regards to the slain elves that we employed to
investigate the book. He explained that the constabulary in the borough
that we were residing in (God’s walk) is a man of ambitious political desires,
and wields his power and influence in order to prove that he has full control
over his borough in order to further his future political aspirations. He
then said that he will not stop until this matter is resolved. The legal
system in the great city is not what one would normally expect based on those
found in other realms, but that the neighborhood, and others like it, are ruled
with an iron fist especially the more affluent and secure neighborhoods in the
city.

One option he presented, which he said would not be cheap,
would be to have a close associate of the Sea Elf ambassador carry the item to
Tol Alatheon where a wizard of the court could ascertain its properties and
potential dangers. He then said that we could secure passage on a human
vessel and leave an advocate here from the Sea Elf embassy to answer to the
charges, upon our honor that we would return at a later date if required by the
powers that be in Caursetti. He then said that the relatives of the slain
cousins were unlikely to press charges in the matter of the deaths of their
kinsmen, since other elves (including star elves) were involved in the alleged
crime. The only possible criminal charges to be brought were breaking and
entering using sorcery which can carry the penalty of death in Caursetti,
especially in the more affluent and strictly controlled boroughs such as Gods
Walk and Falconbridge.

He indicated that he would send a representative (a
barrister or lawyer) to meet with us to aid us in this matter. He also
said he would send an associate to theKingdomofAlatheon in order
to negotiate for us to have the elves there identify the book and its
properties safely, though it would likely be a costly endeavor. “There
are spells that predate our world that are exceedingly dangerous which may be
contained in the book. We don’t want those spells to fall into the hands
of the mortals” according to the Ambassador. On the other hand, he said
it may just be a spell book with protective magics bound into it that had
caused the deaths of the elves.

The star elves in the group trust the Elven ambassador
implicitly. If a good deal can be made, he and his associates will do
right by us and we will be justly rewarded as a result of the
transaction. During the meeting at the Elven embassy, an entire wing of
Elven Blue Dragons were seen flying from the windows, and later landed in the
courtyard below making a great commotion. It was a very formal affair
during which the bodies of the slain elves were taken away to the Elven court
in Tol Alatheon to the northwest some 200-300 miles away.

Meanwhile, Thorvald the Thugee Barbarian, the Volkyr Monk
Scetis, Gash the human fighter, the dwarven fighter Niric Dragonbane, and
Sorrin the Gnome Illusionist/Cleric went to the dock district in Grimward to
try and negotiate passage to the Devil’s cape aboard a ship so that we could
investigate the hideouts ofArham
of the Cult of the Red Snake that we had found notated on the map from
Grakhirt’s lair. Thorvald learned on good authority from a relatively
sober Thugee sailor about the Broken Wife Inn which was to be found within the
city (we had a document that Gundar was to meet him about the book before his
demise). It is located in the Coinbridge neighborhood across the river.
There are two neighborhoods south of city and across the river in Caursetti
that are rough neighborhoods to say the least. Coinbridge is only
marginally safer than the nearby South Hill neighborhood, both of which are
considered to be rough parts of town.

A local inn owner then told the Scetis the Monk of one
Captain Jettit Obergin who is the master and captain of the Fickle Shark which
makes the run from Caursetti to the Devil’sCape regularly. When we
arrived at the ship at the docks, it was apparent that the crew was busily
making preparations to depart. The Fickle Shark is a simple merchant
vessel that appeared to be well kept and run from our observations. He
said that they were not going in that direction but we negotiated a price for
passage to the Devil’sCape aboard ship, and embarked
at the end of the session two hours after the evening meal.

Later that evening before we departed, we were approached
in theInn of the Scorned Weasel in
Gods Walk by a sea elf named Aefelearth Bale Bitterbriar. He had been
appointed by the Elven Ambassador as our barrister and we told him everything
that transpired concerning the book and the death of the Elven sage and her
servant. His Sun Elf bodyguards showed up at theInn as a show of force to keep
the local constable from trying any monkey business. He said from the
information that we gave him that he could stall the proceedings for five to
seven years. In our defense he said the Elves in our group were honor
bound to protect their cousins out of fear for their safety which justified
their illegal entry onto the premises.

Afterwards, when we met with Rallemon he said he was a
trader of magical items, some of which were ancient and some of which were of a
more recent manufacture, and that he had clients in the west that would pay top
dollar for the more rare magical items, particularly those considered to be
forgotten lore. When questioned about the lands of Ravishar to the east
he said that the border between theKingdomofRaegeleth (the god
king’s realm) and the lands of Ravishar is known to be defended by demons and
the like, but that the coastal villages were not unlike normal Volkyr towns
found elsewhere on the island. Their denizens typically live in fear and
are in a perpetual state of servitude to Ravishar the Undying. He
inquired about the rumors of some demon unleashed from an evil book and
inferred that he thought that we were somehow involved, but we declined to
comment on the matter.

There was a glisten of water on the floor behind him that
we noticed as he was walking out the door of theInn.
I mentioned to the DM that maybe he was a Deep One (Shades of Shadows Over
Innsmouth) and he said he wasn’t – at least not yet anyway… LOL